Topsite (warez)

Topsite is a term used by the warez scene to refer to underground, highly secretive, high-speed FTP servers used by release groups and couriers for distribution, storage and archiving of warez releases.[1] Topsites have very high-bandwidth Internet connections, commonly supporting transfer speeds of hundreds to thousands of megabits per second; enough to transfer a full Blu-ray in seconds.[2] Topsites also have very high storage capacity; a total of many terabytes is typical.[3][4][5]

Unlike their predecessors in the Bulletin board system (BBS) scene, topsites aren't advertised broadly. With the increased threat of police raids, topsites have been forced to employ elaborate security precautions in order to stay hidden from authorities.[6]

A typical topsite configuration will only allow users to login from a certain ident and host (or IP range for users with dynamic IPs), with SSL encapsulation on all FTP sessions.[7] FTP bouncers are commonly used to hide the topsite's real IP address, and to share network load.

Along with an "official name", most topsites are also known in the warez scene by an abbreviation that is two or three letters long. Knowledge of the abbreviation as well as the official name is not shared, even between different scene members. For example, a topsite with the hypothetical name "Blackbox" could be abbreviated as "BBX" and subsequently referred to as "B**" during an IRC conversation between those with knowledge of the site.

Activity on the FTP server is announced by a Sitebot in a private IRC channel which is usually invite-only. To receive an invite, users need to issue a command to the FTP server after logging in the site. This ensures that only those with accounts on the FTP have access to the channel. Sitebots typically run Eggdrop IRC bot software.

Release databases record release names and their release date & time, although fields vary from database to database. Examples of other common fields include ID3musical genre names (for MP3 releases), sections, and nuke (release rejection) details.

Release databases are maintained to provide release groups with a service for checking existing release titles (i.e., to avoid duping another group). Some databases contain historical release records dating back to the BBS era.[8] Note that such databases are uncommon, due to a completely different release naming method (based on the ZIP file descriptor FILE_ID.DIZ, as opposed to a directory name), and lack of information from this period.

Release databases are usually updated by automatic processes that either recurse selected topsites searching for new releases (spidering), or catch pre-release announcements from site channels.

Release databases used by topsites are private, but a number of public websites exist with similar information.

Credit system controls the amount of data that users can download. Most sites operate by using an automated credit system. When a user uploads a file, their account is credited for an amount based on the uploaded file size, commonly multiplied three times. For example, when a user uploads a 15MB file, they may receive 45MB credits in return. Credits can be later used to download files from the site. Credits can be lost by uploading a bad release that gets nuked. Nuke multiplier affects the amount of lost credits. Nukes can be either site nukes (local) or scene nukes (global). Site nukes are issued when a release that is uploaded to the topsite violates site rules, such as 'No VLS' for the MP3 section. Another common site nuke is for backfilling, which is uploading something after a specific amount of time has elapsed from the time of release, usually 5 to 15 minutes.[clarification needed] Typically the nuke multiplier for a site nuke is at least 3x, where all couriers responsible for racing the bad release will lose 3x the credits they gained uploading. These nukes will not be echoed out to pre channels, as they only affect the local site. Scene nukes are nukes which are echoed out to pre channels. Scene nukes usually occur when a release violates scene rules, such as wrong encoder, or when the release is outright bad, such as out of sync. The nuke multiplier for scene nuke on topsites is usually 1x; all the couriers lose all credits gained uploading the release and break even.[9][10]

A warez group may gain access to a topsite as an affiliate (or "affil"), thus making the site among the group's primary distribution points. Affiliation benefits the warez group as the site will grant a certain number of leech accounts to the group (the number usually depending on the reputation of the group), and the site benefits by becoming one of a collection of sites that has first access to the releases of the group, thus improving its own reputation. Typically, groups will affiliate with several topsites, in order to maximize efficient distribution by couriers to other (non-affiliated) topsites. A group will choose topsites based on geographical location, mostly by country but sometimes by region, such as Northern Europe or Western US. Barring extraordinary circumstances, a group selects just one site for each location.

Topsites may have any number of affiliates, and commonly advertise them in the welcome message to indicate to its users the quality of the site. The most exclusive topsites will avoid affiliating with an excessive number of groups for security purposes and also to maintain adequate network resources. Topsites may also remove (or "drop") affiliates for a variety of reasons, including the lack of productivity of the release group, conflict between the site operator and the group, and the group's decision to affiliate with another topsite in the same geographical region.

Each affiliate has access to a private, hidden directory on the topsite. This directory is used for uploading new releases before they are made available to other users. When a new release has finished uploading on each of the group's sites, a command is executed to simultaneously copy it into a directory accessible by other users, and trigger an announcement in the topsite IRC channel. This event is known as a pre-release (or "pre"), and must occur at the same time on every affiliated site.

The warez scene relies on strict release standards, or rules, which are written and signed by various warez groups.

Couriers are a specific class of topsite users who earn their access by uploading new releases and filling requests. When a courier gains access to a topsite, they are often required to pass a trial test such as uploading a certain amount in a short period of time.

Couriers compete (race) against each other for respect, credits, access to other topsites, and fun. Private couriers often operate as independent (iND) couriers. Some couriers band together to form courier groups which provide support and friendship through camaraderie. Couriers/Racers are looked down upon more than ever by affiliates and topsite staff with the increase of scripts that perform the couriers tasks automatically; while some couriers call this efficient, others call it lazy.

A site or system operator (siteop/sysop) is in charge of the day-to-day operation of a topsite. They have full (root) access to the server and are able to manage users, groups, and topsite scripts and daemons installed on server. They decide on site rules, and site sections (e.g. TV Rips, XviD movies, MP3 music, etc.). Site operators are also in charge of managing the site channel, and sitebot.

A group administrator ('gadmin') is a member of an affiliated group or courier group with user management rights over the group. Each group has a pre-negotiated number of leech and ratio users, or slots.

While these sites are protected with technologically advanced schemes, law enforcement operations such as Operation Buccaneer (December 2001) and Operation Fastlink (April 2004) have been able to gain access and shut down sites by infiltrating the pirate groups that operate on them. Operation Site Down (June 2005) was the latest significant law-enforcement attack on the warez scene. There were also busts in June 2006, with one US.biz site being busted, and several colocated servers being seized.

Hong Kong Customs uncovered a case when "copyright industry representatives" tipped them off in June 2009, resulting in the first case in Asia. Apparently, an international piracy syndicate used a topsite to download and then distribute copyright-infringing items such as movies, music, computer programs and videogame software.[11]

Not all takedowns are successful. Operation Bahnhof (March 2005) failed when the officials entered an area that their warrant didn't include. Although they found several dedicated servers with terabytes of illegal material, they ended up being sued for illegal trespassing and harassment, and were accused of planting evidence, since one of the Antipiratbyrån (Swedish anti-piracy group) employees was trying to infiltrate the scene to gather evidence, and in doing so violated Swedish laws against entrapment.